Bridging the Gap

Not to age myself, but I recall a quarter of a century ago today, sitting in my high school accounting class when someone burst in and said, "The space shuttle blew up!"

What? That can't be!

We sat in disbelief while we tried to absorb the news and our teacher pondered whether we should all get out of class and go down the hall to the library, where at least there was a TV with a connection to the outside world (as opposed to those that just hooked up to VHS players). He didn't let us go, but I had study hall the next hour and I just watched those same 3 minutes over and over while newscasters and authorities tried to figure out what was going on and what to say about the Challenger. The teachers watching it with me were crying because, well, they lost one of their own.

It was just one of those moments in history for me that I won't forget. I have that Jan. 28 date ingrained in my head much like everyone has Dec. 7 and Sept. 11 and June 28 (oh, that's just my birthday so you can mark it on your calendar).

The amazing thing is that not only could I talk to Carter about it today, thanks to videos on the Internet these days, he could watch the event with me and see why it was memorable for this older generation. It was a bit unreal to see again. For Carter, too. I still got goose bumps and a lump in my throat. So tragic.

I am continually impressed with the different ways technology continues to bridge the gap between generations. The memorable news stories are neat to see again. But there is something else far more entertaining... Music videos!

Tonight, Daddy got to show Carter the Bohemian Rhapsody video by Queen. The 12-year-old was suitably impressed.

Then Daddy showed him a little country video on a song called Why Me, Lord? ... something he always starts singing when Carter (or Momma) does something high on the idget scale.

We were not impressed.